Bosque School seeks an experienced educator to lead its upper school beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year. Successful candidates will bring wisdom, insight, vision, strength and warmth to the position. The Upper School Head reports directly to the Head of School and works closely with the school’s senior administrative leadership team, academic leadership team, an upper school team of thoughtful and experienced deans, and passionate and committed faculty.

Now in its twenty third year, Bosque School is a vibrant learning community in which teachers are honored as educational leaders and students are believed to have enormous intellectual and creative capacity. The school has a strong commitment to an academically challenging curriculum that includes comprehensive arts education, field-based environmental education, and community-wide service learning. We seek a school leader committed to progressive, inquiry-based education, diversity and equity work, and – most of all – young people ages 13-18.

Leadership Goals:

Maintain congruence between the mission statement, academic mission statement and division work

Act as the educational leader of the division

Function as the chief articulator of the division’s programs, expectations, behavioral guidelines, and other information necessary to ensure that all constituencies are fully informed

Be a visible presence in all areas of the school and attend school functions

Be knowledgeable of and able to articulate advances and trends in pedagogy and education

Serve as a consultant to teachers in matters of classroom management, teaching methods and general school procedures

Be aware of the educational, physical, social and psychological needs of the school community, and develop plans for meeting those needs in conjunction with Director of Student Development and grade-level deans

Serve on various school committees related to school mission

Coordinate with Head of Middle School and Director of the Sofia Center to plan and implement faculty professional development

Make periodic presentations to the Board of Trustees

The Upper School Head has management responsibilities in numerous areas. For a thorough job description, refer to Bosque School's website [www.bosqueschool.org/Employment_Opportunities.aspx].

Application Materials

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, statement of educational philosophy,and five references via email to diana.schesser@bosqueschool.org. These materials should address the reason for interest in the position, professional goals, and relevant education and experiences. The deadline for submission of application materials is February 16, 2018.

Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:

Experience in a leadership position at the upper school level

Insightful understanding of the developmental needs of young people ages 13-18

Knowledge of best practices regarding upper school curricula and pedagogy

Compassion and empathy for young people and their families

Commitment to ongoing creation of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environment

Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues while also able to make difficult decisions

Strong communication skills, both verbal and written

Capacity to inspire commitment to a long-term vision while also juggling the day-to-day logistics and challenges of leading a division

Commitment to helping young people develop internal motivation to do what is right and good versus simply following a set of rules

Master's Degree or higher preferred

NOTES:

Additional Salary Information: Dependent on experience

About Bosque School

Founded in 1994 and located on a 45-acre site in the bosque in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bosque School values integrity, community and scholarship. Our progressive curriculum is designed to support a lifelong learning mindset through challenge and inquiry. Through the Bosque Environmental Monitoring Program, our students host thousands of peers from around the state as they are trained on-site to collect scientific data for use by researchers at the University of New Mexico. A dynamic Service Learning program develops student leadership skills. Ongoing teacher growth is facilitated by the Sofia Center for Professional Development, like BEMP and our student service program, an expression of the school's commitment to public-private partnership in our community. Currently, we serve about 490 students in grades six through twelve. There are over 60 full-time faculty members with more than half of them holding advanced degrees and a support staff of 41. The average class size is 16 and the average student:faculty ratio is 9:1.